Iceblack Dreams
by Levannar
Summary: Evil has always been a more powerful force than good; but what happens when it suddenly disappears? The world doesn't necessarily become a safer place... Chapter 5 up!
1. Prologue

**Author's Notes:** Hello there! This'll be a loooong, multi-chaptered story, and a bit different than my previous ones:) It's maybe a little darker and less humorous, but I hope you'll still like it. I'd write a decent summary, but unfortunately that would spoil the plot:) BUT if I get reviews I'll be encouraged and I'll surely be able to put up the first chapter in no time! Criticism is also welcome, as long as it's constructive - even the slightest advice helps me a lot, so don't hesitate, tell me what you think about this!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything! *bursts into tears*

**EDIT:** The mistakes in this have been corrected by my beta, The Toe of Sauron. A thousand thanks! I've no idea what I'd do without you.

**Prologue**

'_And in the deepest abyss of the Sea of Chaos emptiness resides; colder than the coldest ice, darker than the darkest night, endless like the Sea itself. From that emptiness She created her hounds, the seven Urgaloki…'_

Xelloss frowned; he'd never heard of this legend. He put the manuscript he was reading down and gazed out of the window, at the azure-blue sea. He was sitting at a table in the huge library of Wolf Pack Island. It was late in the afternoon and the sun outside was dipping towards the horizon, creating a golden reflection on the water and turning the clouds magnificent shades of red and orange. The island was quiet and peaceful, definitely not a place one would imagine as the home of thousands of mazoku.

He yawned and turned back to his work. He had no idea why his Mistress wanted him to study this ancient story but she had said he had to finish it before sunset. That was why he was wasting his precious time there in spite of the many things he would have to do. But she had commanded it and so he wouldn't complain.

He sensed a presence on the Astral Plane and a moment later, an underling appeared in front of him. He raised an eyebrow and opened his eyes. _You'd better have a good reason for disturbing me,_ his gaze said. The lesser demon trembled, fear clearly written on its face. "The Mistress sent me, my Lord" it said in a shaking voice. "She orders you to stop what you're doing and meet her in the main casting chamber."

Xelloss frowned. _What could be so urgent?_

"Thank you," he said. "You're dismissed." The messenger didn't have to be told twice: it disappeared immediately. A small smile appeared on Xelloss' face; there was only one person in the world —his mistress and the two remaining Retainers aside— who wasn't afraid of him when he looked at her like that.

_Perhaps,_ he mused, _I should seek her out when I have some free time._

He stood, leaving the manuscript on the table with his astral signature imprinted on it to keep anyone from disturbing it, and teleported into the corridor outside the main casting chamber (or the Big Sphere, as it was commonly called). The huge gate was wide open and, as he glanced in, he saw that the torches on the walls were already lit. What spell could the Mistress want him to cast?

He stepped into the chamber. It wasn't called a sphere for nothing: it was round, built like a dome. The light of the torches didn't reach the top of it, the curved walls fading into darkness. A large pentagram covered almost the entire floor, but it wasn't active, so he stepped inside, walking into the center of the chamber.

"Mistress?" he called, turning around. There was no one in the room.

Xelloss frowned. _If that pathetic little maggot sent me to the wrong place, I—_

His thoughts were interrupted by a flash of light as the pentagram around him suddenly lit up. Someone had cast the activating spell. _What the…_

Before he could move, a spell of immense power hit him on the Astral Plane, enveloping and paralyzing him. Enormous pain ripped through his body and he collapsed with a loud cry in the middle of the glowing pentagram. He felt the chamber spinning around him as the swirling energy captured his astral body, preventing him from escaping. He tried to fight it, but to no avail. It was then that he noticed the woman standing at the gate.

If he'd had a heart, it would have stopped. "Mistress?" he whispered. It couldn't be her… and yet he would have recognized her aura from halfway across the world. "Why?"

Zelas Metallium stepped closer, almost to the edge of the pentagram.

"I'm sorry" she said.

"But…" Xelloss managed to pull himself together. "Is this some kind of punishment?"

"No." The Beastmaster knelt down to be closer to his eye-level. "I just want to protect you. I hope you'll understand in time."

"Protect me? From what?"

Zelas gave him a sad smile. "I have to do something and I'm afraid you'll try to help me if I don't lock you up. As soon as it's over, I'll come and release you."

"But—"

"Sssh. This will hurt a little."

Xelloss screamed as she cut his last connection to the Astral Plane, replacing it with burning pain. The chamber was blurring. Zelas watched sadly as her general-priest's eyes clouded over.

"Wait for me" she whispered. "I'll come back."

But she never did.


	2. Chapter One

**Author's Note:** Well, here it is! Sorry for the long time it took; it was a little tricky and I even had to rewrite it. Anyway, now it's here and I hope you'll like it! I hope it explains some things:) I would like to thank everyone who reviewed the prologue, I hope you'll find this interesting as well! Please tell me your opinion!

**EDIT**: As I was told that the second paragraph was too long, I've cut it into two smaller ones:) Thank you The Toe of Sauron for your suggestions, they helped me a lot!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Slayers:(

* * *

Chapter One

The sun slowly descended behind the mountains, wrapping the buildings and towers in Seyruun into soft, golden light. Lanterns were lit as the sunrays faded into the growing shadows, and the Capital of White Magic illuminated the falling night with its own light. A petite red-haired girl was standing on one of the balconies of the palace. She lifted her head, breathing in the sweet scent of the evening air.

Lina Inverse turned around and went back into the large room. Around a wooden, beautifully carved table three very different people were sitting; as she joined them, she thought about what the chances had been of such people meeting and becoming best friends. She glanced at them one by one: Zelgadis, who was sipping quietly his obligatory coffee; Amelia, who was sitting next to him and seemed perfectly content; and Gourry, munching a sandwich and smiling quietly to himself. _What had been the chances?_ She couldn't imagine. And yet here they were, together after eleven years of friendship. Their company could only have been stranger if Xelloss and Filia had been present as well. _And once we all have been travelling…_ But those times were long since gone. It's not that they never travelled nowadays; but even when they decided to take the road like they had done in the past, their journeys were limited to Seyruun's close proximity.

It had been four years since they had last visited Atlas City; and then only she and Gourry had gone. Sometimes she wished she was somewhere out there, fighting bandits, exploring ancient tombs and temples in search for treasure and magical items; but overall she couldn't decide if she really wanted to return to that past. At first the main reason for her staying in Seyruun had been her friends: Amelia could hardly leave her duties; Zel had put up with his appearance at last and had decided to stay with her; and even Gourry had wanted to settle down. Lina hadn't been able to bring herself set off alone; strangely enough, she had become so attached to her friends that she didn't see any reason for travelling if she didn't have company. But as time had worn on, she had got used to her new life, and she was happy now. Or at least that was what she thought; she didn't dare to explore her deeper feelings. She didn't want to find that she still desired adventures; it would have brought her to a decision she couldn't possibly have made right.

She noticed that Amelia was looking at her. "Is there something wrong, Miss Lina?" No matter how many years they had spent together as friends, she still called her that.

Lina flashed the princess a smile. "Nothing. I was just thinking about the old times."

"Ah" Gourry leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms. "Good ol' times. Fighting bandits and those mazkulo!"

"It's mazoku, Gourry" Zelgadis corrected him apathetically.

Lina looked over her friends. "Geez, guys, we're like some pensioners!"

Amelia laughed. "Well, you started it with that 'old times' crap!"

"Maybe you should retire, Lina" added Zelgadis with a smile.

The sorceress snorted. "You mean more than I already have?"

"You're right. After all, you haven't blown up anything in the past couple of months."

"Why you…" Lina threw herself at him, catching him in a furious headlock. While the chimera was gasping for air, Amelia shook her head. "Miss Lina, I'm still wondering about just how you can be so childish at times."

Before Lina could have answered, the door opened and a voice echoed through the room. "What on Earth is happening here?"

Lina lifted her head to look at the newcomer. "Well…" the words stack in her throat as she took sight of the woman standing at the door. But only for a moment. "YEEEEEAAAARGH!" She jumped up and tried to escape. The woman sighed and snapped her fingers, creating a white rope of energy that winded around the sorceress' ankle. Still screaming, Lina took in the air as she was hung with the rope, head downwards. "NOOOOO!!! Let me go, PLEASE!" The others were staring mutely at the unfolding scene.

"Oh, please quit panicking. In spite of the fact that your behaviour still reminds me of a barbarian, I haven't come to punish you." The woman's lips slowly curved into a rather dark smile. "As long as you stop it, of course."

Zelgadis, Amelia and Gourry stared at her. "Just who are you?" asked the chimera with a frown.

"So she hasn't told you about me?" With a small motion of her hand the woman lifted Lina to be at her eye-level. "That wasn't very nice of you, Sis."

"_Sis?!_"

"Would you please introduce me, then?"

"O-of course" Lina's voice was shaking. "G-guys, this is m-my elder sister." She gulped. "Luna Inverse."

- o -

About half an hour later they were sitting around the table, now somewhat more calmly. While Lina was staring at the ground with a pale face, the others watched Luna. She was nothing like her sister, at least not in appearance. Her long, dark hair was cut into a classic hairstyle, standing out against Lina's red locks; her figure was a lot different as well, especially in breast-size. She was currently sipping a cup of tea.

"This tea is very good, Princess Amelia" she said with a smile. She seemed a lot nicer now than when she had arrived.

"Thank you, Miss Luna" answered the princess. "You can simply call me Amelia, by the way."

"All right, if you wish so."

"What are you doing here, Luna?" asked Lina, who seemed to have finally managed to pull herself together.

"Huh?" Gourry was clueless, as usual. "Hasn't she just come to visit you?"

The sorceress sighed. "Considering that she never cared to do it in the past ten years, no, Gourry, I don't think so."

"You are right, Lina. I have another reason for coming." Luna put her cup of tea back on the table.

"What's it, then?"

Luna took a deep breath. "When was the last time you saw a mazoku?"

"Huh?" Lina stared at her. "You came to ask _that?_"

"Just answer, please."

"Well…" Lina thought a bit. "I don't know. The last time we met high-level mazoku was when we were fighting Valgaav eight years ago. Since then… there were only some lesser demons."

"Not even those lately" added Zelgadis.

"Well, we didn't travel much in the past couple of years. And mazoku don't tend to visit Seyruun very often." Lina thought a bit. "The truth is that I can't really remember when we last saw one, and to be honest, I prefer it this way."

"I understand your opinion" Luna flashed a smile at her. "So, you haven't met them in about five years or so?"

Lina frowned. She tried to remember if they had fought lesser demons on their way to Atlas city; strangely enough, she couldn't recall such battles. There were only the usual bandits and some trolls, but no mazoku. "Well, maybe. But why is that so important?"

Luna sighed. "Because nobody has seen a mazoku since then."

There was a long silence, during which everyone was staring at her, gaping. Lina was the one who finally spoke. "What do you mean?"

"Nobody knows where they are. They just… disappeared and now we can't find them."

Zelgadis raised an eyebrow. "Is this a joke? You can't lose an entire race!"

Amelia seemed more worried. "What if they are up to something?"

Luna nodded. "That's what we thought at first. Even a month ago we were making preparations to be ready whatever they have in mind this time."

"Wait a minute" said Lina. "Who 'we'?"

"The golden dragons and I, of course" answered Luna. "All who serve Cephied and the four Dragon Kings." She sighed. "But what happened a month ago in Telarin has changed our opinion and now we are even more worried than before."

"Telarin?" Gourry seemed confused.

"That's a large seaport to the southwest, Jelly-brains" Lina got already used to his cluelessness a long time ago.

"A ship that had survived a great storm arrived. Members of the crew claim that the storm swept them to a deserted island that doesn't appear on any map."

"And?" The chimera couldn't see the importance of the discovery. The others seemed to be at a loss as well.

"We believe it was Wolf Pack Island" said Luna.

"WHAT?!" Lina stared at her in disbelief. "You mean _that_ Wolf Pack Island? Home of Zelas Metallium, one of the Mazoku Lords?"

"Exactly."

Zelgadis frowned. "But you can't be sure. No human has ever seen that island."

"That's true, but there are some details that indicate we are right. First of all, there were some extremely powerful spells hiding the island from strangers."

Lina immediately got excited; the fact that she hardly traveled anymore didn't influence her passion for magic. "What kind of spells?"

"Unfortunately our sources aren't professional magic-users, which means that we don't know much." Luna glanced at her. "But the sailors say it was _invisible_."

Zelgadis gasped. "Entirely invisible? The whole island?"

"Yes. They say they only took sight of it when they were about five miles away from it."

"How could anyone do such a thing?"

"Maybe it's some kind of illusion" Lina's mind was already racing. What huge possibilities could the ability to turn invisible mean? "It hides the island and everything in its five mile-range. What do you think?"

"No known illusion does that" argued Zelgadis. "And there's still the problem of power supply. It would take a huge amount of energy to hide an entire island."

"They apparently solved that!"

Gourry glanced at the sorceress, then at the chimera, then back at the sorceress. "Excuse me" he said "Can I ask a question?"

Lina sighed. "Of course."

"What does this whole thing have to do with us?" Everyone stopped, staring at him. They hadn't thought about that. Lina cast an inquisitive glance at her sister, who smiled in return. "I was asked by the servants of the Water Dragon King to investigate this case and I was wondering if you would like to help me."

Lina bit her lower lip. Jumping into a new adventure that could possibly turn into a world-saving situation (things usually turned out like that when mazoku were involved), on the top of it with her sister… even though the new magic was tempting, she wasn't sure she wanted that. And the fact that Luna was _asking_ and not _ordering_ her was suspicious as well. She glanced at her friends; if they didn't want to come then there was no way she would! Amelia appeared to be deep in thought; Zelgadis too.

Gourry shrugged. "Well, if Lina goes then I'll go as well!"

Zelgadis leaned back in his armchair. "Let me put this straight. You are asking us to go with you right into the lion's den, possibly into a trap."

"Yes."

"Why?"

"There was nobody on that island. Thousands of mazoku simply disappeared. We need to know what happened."

The chimera shrugged. "Why does it bother us? Maybe there was an inner strife like between Gaav and Phibrizzo."

"According to our sources, there are no signs of a fight. The island's flora and the buildings are in perfect condition. If something killed those mazoku then we don't have the slightest idea of what it was, which means we are facing a new enemy." Luna cast a dark glance at them. "One that is deadlier than the most evil and powerful race in the world."

Lina gulped. _Deadlier than an army of mazoku?_

"One more reason for _not_ going there" said Zelgadis.

"Unfortunately this is not so easy. We can't just bury our heads in the sand; if we don't act, noone will."

"Miss Luna is right" said Amelia. "It is our duty to protect the innocent people in the world. If a new enemy appeared, in the name of Justice we have to find a way to fight it." She stood up. "I'll talk to my father about this."

Lina gazed after the princess as she left the room. Zelgadis turned to her. "What do you think, Lina?"

The sorceress sighed. "I don't know. I can't say I'm fond of the idea, but I have to admit that Luna and Amelia have a point. If something really wiped out the mazoku, then it can attack us at any moment. We have to prepare for it, but we can't do that if we don't even know what it is."

"But it's possible that this new enemy doesn't even exist. Or if it does, it's maybe on our side. After all, it attacked them and not us!"

"That's why we should take a look."

Zelgadis sighed. "Well, I'm quite certain Amelia will want to go. And if she goes, I'll go as well."

"Do you think Phil will let her go?"

"You know him. No matter how much he is worried about his daughter, if Justice calls her then he won't say no."

Lina giggled. The Crown Prince of Seyruun really hadn't changed in the past years. "Well" she said "I have to think before I decide."

This was the moment when a stumpy, bear-like man with a fell of hair burst into the room. "Is the situation really this serious?" he roared.

"Nice to see you, Phil" said Lina.

"I'm afraid it is, Prince Philionel" said Luna politely.

"Dad, she is Miss Lina's elder sister, Miss Luna" introduced her Amelia, who came in right after her father.

"Nice to meet you then, Miss Luna" said the prince. "My daughter says we are possibly facing a new enemy. Is that true?"

"We still don't know it for sure."

"Dad, I would like to help Miss Luna" Amelia expressed. "As the Princess of Seyruun and the Champion of Justice it is my responsibility to fight this new evil!"

"You're right, my dear!" Philionel took a heroic pose and prepared for a Justice-speech. "No matter how difficult this task seems, if you have a pure heart and believe in the power of Justice, you will succeed!"

Amelia joined him. "We'll surely find a way to defeat this new enemy! It's only a matter of love, bravery and determination!"

"Just what does love have to do with this?" mused Zelgadis. Lina buried her face in her hands. The princess had certainly matured in the past couple of years, but together with her father they were sometimes still unbearable.

Philionel turned to Lina. "Miss Lina, in the name of Justice I ask you to investigate this case!"

"Well, I really have to think it over…" Lina thought it would be best to drop the subject as soon as possible.

"You don't have to do it for free, of course."

"I don't?" The sorceress suddenly became interested in the conversation. Zelgadis sighed and poured some more coffee into his cup.

"Of course not! What about ten thousand gold pieces as a reward?"

"Ten thousand?!" Lina jumped up. "I'll risk my life, plus have to travel with my sister, and you only want to give me ten thousand?! Hmph." She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Fifty thousand."

"WHAT?!" Philionel looked like he was about to have a heart attack.

"All right, all right!" Lina decided to back up. "Maybe that's a bit much. Forty thousand?"

"Twenty. That's my last offer."

"What about twenty-five?"

The prince sighed. "All right. Twenty-five thousand gold pieces when you come back."

Lina flashed him a huge grin. "We've got a deal!" She turned to the others. "We'll set out tomorrow morning! Lina Inverse, the Sorcery Genius won't be afraid of some new world-threatening enemy!"

As everyone cheered, an image came to her mind about Luna pecking at her all the way. The happy smile on her face suddenly turned into a frown as she thought about what could be waiting for them. _Dear Cephied, just what have I gotten myself into again?_


	3. Chapter Two

**Author's Notes:** Guess what: it's an UPDATE! Lol. Sorry for the long delay, for some reason I just wasn't able to write more than one or two paragraphs in every hour. But now here it is, and I sincerely hope that you'll enjoy it! Thank you for your kind reviews and suggestions, I'm trying to improve my writing and you're helping me a lot! Also, reading reviews is an incredibly efficient way to deal with writer's blocks, so it would really help me finish the next chapter if you left me some notes. I'm curious about what you think, so tell me if you like or don't like my story!  
Sorry for my grammar, by the way. I'm trying to improve it, but I have to warn you: English is not my first language, so I'm afraid I'll make some mistakes no matter how hard I try to avoid them. I won't give up though:)

**Disclaimer**: I STILL don't own Slayers.

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Chapter Two

Lina spent the night in anticipation; she was so excited that she could hardly sleep. She had already packed those few things she wanted to take with her on the journey, and she had even got her old travelling clothes out of the wardrobe. She had tried them on; they still fit her. If this was good or exasperating, she couldn't decide.

At midnight she was still lying on her bed, looking at the talismans she had received from Xelloss almost ten years before (when she recalled the vague memory, that decade seemed an eternity) and counting the spells she would possibly need to use on their journey if they encounter enemies. She even refreshed her memory about the Ragna Blade and the Giga Slave; if that powerful new enemy existed then she didn't know what else she could use to defeat it. Or, more likely, _them_: she didn't believe a single opponent would have been able to destroy the entire mazoku race. It was true that Valgaav with Darkstar's and Volphied's power had been a match for even the strongest monsters, but there was no way a person with such power would escape the eye of the servants of Cephied. Or was there? The golden dragons had already lost most of their power and in that incident involving Valgaav and the Overworlders the entire order of the Fire Dragon King had been destroyed. Lina rubbed her temple. So many questions, and not a single answer.

With a sigh she closed her eyes for a moment. At last she was becoming sleepy; she was glad because she needed some rest if she didn't want to pass out the next day. She put the talismans on the bedside-table and dismissed her little lighting-spell. The room instantly became dark and after some moments she could see the stars through the window. Her eyelids were becoming heavy and she drifted asleep.

- o -

Morning came with brilliant sunshine; only a couple of fleecy clouds were floating on the horizon. At first, Lina couldn't really appreciate this as she was busy kicking Gourry out of her room after the swordsman's foolish idea of waking her up. Deed done, the sorceress got down to her usual morning routine, all the while grumbling about just how stupid he was for still not knowing how to treat her.

After washing herself and dressing up she went to the dining hall. Amelia, Zelgadis and Gourry were already there, having breakfast. Not bothered by the hurt looks the swordsman gave her, Lina sat down on her chair and breathed in the scent of tea, fresh bread, ham and fruits that were arranged aesthetically in the middle of the table.

"Good morning, Miss Lina" greeted her Amelia with a gentle smile.

"'Morning" she answered, looking around. "Where's Luna?"

"She is still in her room." The princess put down her sandwich and glanced at Zelgadis' empty cup. "Would you like some more coffee, Mr. Zelgadis?"

"Thanks, that would be great." The chimera looked at Lina. "It seems like everyone is coming in the old clothes" he said.

While packing her plate with about everything she could find on the table, the sorceress cast a glance at her friends. She shrugged. "Well, if they're still good then why spend money on buying new ones?" With that she started eating, and even Gourry knew that disturbing her would have had extremely painful consequences.

Lina was already finishing up when Luna appeared. She was wearing travelling clothes as well, mostly in white and golden. She greeted everyone with a smile, although slightly frowned at the pile of empty plates in front of her sister. "I see you haven't changed" she remarked.

Lina leaned back on her chair and returned her glare. "Should I have?" Despite Luna's new behavior she still didn't trust her or feel at ease in her company.

"No, I never expected you to." Luna sat down beside Amelia and began to eat. "Are you ready, by the way?"

"Of course I am. We could set off right after you have finished breakfast."

"Um" said Gourry, his gaze shifting back and forth between the sisters. "Where are we going again?" Everyone face-faulted.

"Geez" groaned Lina, burying her face in her hands.

"Our destination is the city of Telarin, Mr. Gourry" said Luna calmly. "From there we are going to sail straight to Wolf Pack Island."

"Hmm." The swordsman appeared to be deep in thought. "Isn't that Xelloss' place?"

Lina gasped. "You _remember_ him?"

"Miracles still occur" said Zelgadis.

Gourry was practically glowing with pride. "Of course! That smiling guy with the funny hair! He's a good friend. He always explained things to me much better than you do, Lina!"

The sorceress became red with anger. "That's because he is a thousand years old! Only a guy like that can have enough patience to deal with you!"

"Hey, that's…"

"Would you please quit arguing?" Luna picked an apple from a basket on the table and bit in it. "We should be going."

Lina snorted. "As you _wish_, Sis."

She instantly had to realize that she had gone a little too far. Luna's eyes narrowed; Lina simultaneously paled.

"Well" broke Gourry the silence, oblivious to the growing tension in the air. "I'll still be happy to see him."

While Lina didn't dare to speak, Zelgadis rolled his eyes. "Don't you remember _anything_ we were talking about yesterday? That fruitcake is likely to have died or at least disappeared like the rest of his race." Gourry's eyes widened; the chimera sweathdropped. "Okay, I guess you don't remember, then."

Amelia stood up. "Now that everyone has finished breakfast, I think we should get our equipment and gather at the main gates…" Before she could have finished the sentence, Lina was out of the hall. Luna gazed after her sister for a couple of moments, then stood up and left as well, her eyes still glowing with anger.

The princess and the chimera looked at each other. Amelia frowned. "She's quite… creepy, isn't she?"

Zelgadis glanced at the still open door. "This is going to be an interesting journey."

- o -

There was a gentle breeze as they left Seyruun. Lina hadn't been punished by her sister after all, so she was her usual cheerful self again. She felt excitement rise in her heart as she looked over the landscape in front of her: the peaceful meadows here and there cut by darker forests; the gleam of a river bending behind the trees; the snow-capped mountains far to the north. Now she knew that all her efforts to get used to city-life were in vain; that for all those years she had spent in Seyruun she had been lying to herself. This was where she wanted to be: on the road, running straight into new adventures and dangers, thinking about all the treasures still waiting for her. And she began to realize that no matter what happened this would never change.

Noticing how her eyes shone, Zelgadis picked up her pace.

"You missed it, didn't you?" he said after some moments.

Lina nodded. "Until now I didn't even know how much I did."

"To be honest, it surprised me how easily you accepted your new life in Seyruun." At her inquisitive glance he shrugged. "You're just… not the type to sit in a city and do nothing. I thought you would go mad after the first month."

Lina chuckled. "Yeah, I used to think the same. But now I really don't know how I'll get used to it again after this journey." She slightly shivered at the thought. "And you? Did you miss it?"

"Yeah, maybe" admitted the chimera. "I mean, it's not that I was longing for it, but… now it's good. It somehow feels right."

"Like you were where you belonged to?"

"I don't know. I was perfectly happy in Seyruun. Maybe I just need some change. But I'm sure I wouldn't go alone for a journey again."

The sorceress grinned at him. "Well then, you're lucky because all your crazy friends are here to share the adventures. Speaking of adventures" she glanced around "Do you think there could be some bandits in that forest?"

Zelgadis sweathdropped. "No, Lina, I don't think so. You've driven all the bandits away from the fifty mile-range of the city ages ago."

The sorceress made a face. "Are you sure?"

"Either that, or they live on mere air because there weren't any attacks in the past couple of years."

"Oh." Disappointment was clearly written on Lina's face. "What am I to do, then?"

Zelgadis sighed. "Maybe try and act like a normal traveller?"

The sorceress strode forward with a laugh and stack out her tongue at him. The chimera frowned; this was beginning to resemble their past journeys a little too much for his taste.

- o -

They set up camp near a small stream at sunset; as they couldn't reach an inn they had no choice but spend the night in the wild. Lina was looking forward to it: she could hardly remember when she had last slept under the stars. Everything, from the chirping of the crickets to the purl of the stream and the smell of the grass filled her with nostalgia as she sat down by the fire.

Having had their dinner, they were talking as the trees around them slowly faded into darkness and the northeastern horizon was illuminated by Seyruun's lights. Amelia, who grew unused to walking all day, could hardly keep her eyes open. Gourry was cleaning his sword – even he knew that with Lina he would probably soon need it – and quietly listening to the conversation between Zel, Luna and the sorceress, who were wrapped up discussing the possible threats that could be waiting for them on the island. They all agreed that at this rate they would reach Telarin in three or four days (depending on how much time Lina intended to spend with hunting bandits) and according to Luna, it would take about two weeks from there to sail to Wolf Pack Island if they got a fair wind. With an aggressive gleam in her eyes Lina remarked that she would take good care of that problem; Zelgadis reminded her with a small smile that the last time she had done so, the ship hadn't survived it. Luna said it wasn't surprising as her sister destroyed about everything she touched.

Thus outnumbered, Lina retreated to her tent with a grumble. While the others were still talking and laughing outside, she tried to sleep. It didn't exactly help to think about Luna being in her ten meters-range; back in the palace it had been somehow less threatening. She sighed and cursed herself for being still so afraid of her: after all, their journey hadn't been so bad so far. She had expected Luna to be a much bigger pain in the ass. Still, they had a long way to go and there would be more than enough time for her sister to live up to her expectations.

She rolled to her other side and suddenly felt a painful stab between her ribs. Groping about she found a rock under her; she threw it to the other side of the tent with an annoyed sound. She rolled to her back and groaned as something hard – probably the root of a tree – began to press her spine rather uncomfortably. Now she remembered why she had always preferred sleeping at an inn to spending the night in the wild. _Crap._


	4. Chapter Three

**Author's Notes:** I know, I know. It took me forever to write this. Sorry for that, I had some serious writer's blocks. I promise I'll finish the next one sooner! It would still be nice to get some reviews for this, though. *gazes with pleading eyes* Also, I would like to thank everyone who told me his/her opinion about the previous chapters. They really warmed my heart!

**Special Thanks:** to The Toe of Sauron for beta-reading this. Thank you so much, you're the best! Considering how many mistakes there were in it, I don't even dare to think about what stupid things I must have written in my previous works... oh well. Maybe some day after spending at least ten years in an English-speaking country I'll correct them...

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Slayers. I do own Captain Aerus Traghas and his crew, though. It feels nice to finally have something in the story that's actually mine.

* * *

Chapter three

"FIREBALL!" Lina was in her element. She let out an evil laugh as the bandits went running through the demolished camp, trying to get as far away from the center of destruction (i.e. her) as possible.

Zelgadis was fast enough to duck as the spell flew in his direction; it arced over his head and hit a group of unfortunate thieves. Not even casting a glance at the smoking corpses he picked himself up from the ground and yelled, "Hey, watch it!"

Gourry had quickly proved that he hadn't forgotten anything about combat. Having already killed about a dozen bandits he was now standing beside Lina, watching her back while she obliterated the rest of the camp. Amelia was somewhere behind a couple of tents that had somehow survived the sorceress' rage so far; Zelgadis could hear her yelling 'Elmekia Lance!' from time to time. He started towards her but had only taken two or three steps when a Flare Arrow blew past inches from his face and ignited the tents. He whirled around, eyes wide, and snarled, "What the _hell_ is with you, Lina! Watch where you're throwing those things!"

The sorceress giggled. "Sorry Zel. After such a long break I still have to get the hang of it."

"Uh huh," the chimera grumbled and disappeared behind the smoke.

It didn't take long for him to find Amelia; the princess was busy beating a poor bandit with her bare fists. Zelgadis watched in astonishment for a couple of moments before realizing that she was using the Visfrank. The chimera sighed. Well, at least she didn't use her father's combat moves like the Pacifist Crush. A simple bear-hug, when coming from Phil, could be life-threatening.

Amelia noticed him and waved; Zelgadis couldn't help but smile. Her happiness sometimes brightened his mood as well, not that he would ever admit it.

"Need a hand?" he asked.

Amelia glanced around and sweat-dropped. "No, I think Miss Lina has already killed everyone."

The chimera grimaced. "I guess you have a point there."

"Let's go find the others," the princess said with a sigh.

They had taken about three steps when they heard Lina's excited voice.

"Oh, Gourry, look at all this _treasure!_ Isn't it wonderful? We're so lucky!"

"Excellent. About a hundred pieces of gold and a couple of necklaces. That was _sure_ worth of wasting the entire morning," Luna said.

"Oh, shut up! Can't you be happy _some_times?" Lina was apparently too enthusiastic to be more careful about her words. Zelgadis and Amelia arrived to see her kneeling beside a chest full of gold and jewels. Gourry sat on a nearby crate and Luna, who had refused to take part in the battle, stood next to her sister with a frown on her face.

"Anything useful?" asked the chimera, stopping beside them. Lina glanced up and made a face.

"Nothing magical, unfortunately. But there are some nice gems." She cast a look at her sister. "And _more_ than a hundred pieces of gold."

"Well, at least we won't have to use Seyruun funding anymore," said Amelia.

"Oh, yes we will!" Lina said. "You wanted us to come for this expedition, so you're paying for it!"

Amelia glanced at Luna for help, but the Knight of Cephied merely shrugged. "I don't care who is paying as long as someone is."

The princess let out a defeated sigh and shook her head.

While Lina put away the more valuable gems and the money Gourry scratched his head. "So, is that Tela-something far away from here?"

"It's Tela_rin_, Gourry," Zelgadis said. "And no, if we can get going before noon then I think we'll be there by sunset."

Three days out of Seyruun and they had come a long way. Even Luna hadn't complained. She wasn't _pleased_—while she wasn't as bad as they had been expecting, they had quickly learned that it was impossible to please her—but she wasn't pissed, either. Which was good, because Zelgadis did not want to see a pissed-off Luna.

Lina stretched her back with a contented smile. She looked up at the cloudless sky. "Hey, is it so late already? Why don't we have lunch here?"

Zelgadis sweat-dropped. Well, maybe they wouldn't reach the city that day…

- o -

At the end, Luna insisted on spending the night in Telarin and even threatened Lina with certain consequences if they didn't arrive in the city that day. The exact nature of these consequences remained a mystery, but the sorceress immediately became as pale as a moonfish, so the others decided that they didn't want to know the details. All in all, at sunset the group was standing at the city gates.

Telarin was a large city, although somewhat smaller than Seyruun. It was situated around a natural bay, the entire seaside covered with docks, the residential area stretching up the hills surrounding the bay. Most of the streets were narrow, although there were some avenues rimmed by trees. As the group walked down on one of them they got a gorgeous view of the harbor, the slim forms of the ships standing out against the water gleaming in the light of the setting sun.

They decided to have dinner and rent rooms for the night at an inn near the harbor, everyone agreeing to only meet the sailors the next day. Surprisingly, apart from the waiters almost having a heart attack when they heard the gang's orders, dinner was rather peaceful, as well as the following night. The group considered this as the result of Luna's earlier threatening because Lina had been uncharacteristically quiet and shy throughout the entire day.

In the following morning the weather's gloominess matched Zelgadis. The sky was overcast and the early fog didn't seem to clear away anytime soon. There was also almost no wind at all, which meant that the smell of fish coming from the harbor settled, making the air heavy and choking. Lina made a face as the group stepped out of the door of the inn. So much for the beautiful city at the seaside.

They made their way to the docks where, according to Luna, the ship crew was waiting for them in a tavern called The Fisherman's Gold. The building didn't really live up to its name though; it was rather small and simple with almost no decoration at all apart from a weatherworn inn sign. They stared up at it.

"Not so much like gold, eh?" Lina said, taking in the sight.

"This is a tavern in the middle of a harbor, sis," said Luna. "Did you really expect it to be a luxury hotel?" She took the lead and the others followed her in. They were immediately approached by a tall, blond man who carefully regarded them with piercing blue eyes.

"Welcome, Miss Luna," he said.

"Good morning, Loacren," greeted the Knight of Cephied. Then she turned to her companions. "He's a golden dragon."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Loacren," said Amelia. The others murmured some greetings as well, still a little dizzy because of the smell.

Loacren led them to the corner of the room where about a dozen men were sitting around a large table.

"Miss Luna, let me introduce you to Captain Aerus Traghas," he said. A large man with a short beard stood up; he had a cheerful twinkle in his eyes as he shook hands with Luna.

"At your service, ma'am. I'm the captain of Aqua Glory, the finest clipper in Telarin!" He flashed a bright smile at her.

"I am glad to finally meet you and your crew, Captain," Luna said. "This is my sister and her companions."

"They're coming too?"

Luna smiled. "Yes, they are. But I am going to ask some questions first, if it's not too much trouble."

Aerus Traghas shrugged. "I doubt I can tell you anything I haven't already told your friend."

Luna glanced at the golden dragon. "Please inform Milgasia and the others about what you've learned." Loacren nodded and turned for the door.

After the sailors had pulled some additional chairs to the table, the group sat down.

"To start with, Captain, what was the exact time of your visit to the island?" Luna said.

"Exactly? We spotted it on May 16. Four weeks and five days ago if I count them correctly."

"And how much time did you spend on the island?"

"Less than a day. Seeing it appear out of nowhere was freaky enough, and when we only found empty buildings, well… can't say anyone liked the idea of staying. We refilled our stock of water and left."

"I see…"

"Did you feel anything when you spotted it?" Lina cut in.

"Excuse me, Miss?" The captain appeared somewhat confused.

"Anything. Tingle, chills or something else?"

The man frowned. "As far as I can remember, no."

"Of course not," Zelgadis said. "They don't have magic abilities."

"Yeah, yeah," Lina didn't seem embarrassed. "I just wanted to clear that up. We've never encountered anything like this before." She turned back to the captain. "What did you mean when you said it appeared? How did it appear?"

Aerus hesitated for a moment. "Well, I wasn't watching at the exact moment when it happened. Cutty, here, saw it."

He clapped a young sailor on his back.

"Yes, Miss. I was in the crow's nest at the time," Cutty said. His eyes were shining with amazement. "It wasn't so sudden. More like when the fog lifts. But why's that so important?"

Lina wasn't even listening to him anymore; she was busy arguing with Zelgadis. "Maybe it isn't even related to illusions. It could be an entirely new type of magic!"

The chimera was more skeptical. "Maybe, maybe not. You see something similar when an illusion begins to lose energy."

"But it's not the same situation! When you enter an area hidden with an illusion there's an immediate effect."

"I still think it's an illusion. A brand new one, yes, but still an illusion."

Luna cleared her throat. "Are you two done?"

Lina slumped back in her seat, grumbling.

"So," the Knight of Cephied said, "Let's continue with the island itself. What was it like?"

"Well, it was big. Covered with forest," Captain Traghas said. "There were also some high hills. It was pretty nice."

"You mentioned earlier that there were buildings?"

"Yes, ma'am. We'd dropped anchor in a large bay when we noticed there was a large castle or palace-like building not far from the coast. Had towers and all."

"Did you go inside?"

"Yes. The first thing we did was to look for inhabitants. There was a large area around the building, used to be a park, I think. Inside, well… dust and spider webs everywhere, nobody in sight."

"No signs of a fight at all?"

Captain Traghas shook his head. "It was dirty and neglected but that's all." The captain leaned closer. "I can only tell you two things: whoever lived there, they left years ago and they left in a hurry."

Luna's eyes narrowed. "Why do you think so?"

"Well… we went into a couple of rooms. There were books left open on tables, paper with pens and ink, as if someone had been writing. The floor was a mess, all littered with things, like they had suddenly dropped everything and left. To be honest, it was creepy."

Lina frowned.

Zelgadis sighed and shook his head. "The more of this I hear, the less I like it."

"You're telling me." Lina leant back in her chair, her face dark with worry.

"When can we set off?" Luna asked.

"Not today," Captain Traghas said with a frown. "There's almost no wind today and we still have to finish loading the ship."

"Oh. I see."

"Don't worry ma'am,' the man said with a bright smile, "If the weather's good tomorrow then we'll set out early in the morning."

With that the conversation was more or less finished. The sailors agreed that it would take about two weeks to reach the island; but, as it was impossible to leave that day, the group was free to roam the streets of Telarin. When they stepped out of the door of the inn they saw that the fog had mostly cleared up and the smell was far less disturbing as well. Up the hills it was even better, especially when in the afternoon the sun finally came out. In spite of this, everyone was praying for the wind to blow properly next day – as Zelgadis put it, sheer boredom was just about as dangerous as anything they could possibly face once they got to their destination.

- o -

Nobody knew if Cephied or some other god had heard their prayer but the next morning the weather was perfect for sailing. The downside of this was that it brought for Lina the rather unpleasant experience of being literally kicked out of her bed by her sister at about five in the morning. Luna ordered her to get ready as fast as possible since the ship was already waiting for them in the harbor.

"I'm hungry," Gourry said after taking about five steps.

"Well you should've eaten faster, moron," Lina grumbled. Her ribs still hurt and she thought her sister's boot had left a mark that would be there for at least a month.

"Quit arguing, you two!" Amelia said. "In the name of Justice we must overcome our differences in order to achieve victory!"

"Amelia?"

"Yes, Miss Lina?"

"Shut up."

The rest of the short journey was spent in silence.

The Aqua Glory was indeed a clipper, and a very nice one. She had been built for speed: her hull was long and slim like an arrow and she had three masts with about two dozen sails. She looked as if once set free, she would fly above the sea instead of upon it. Captain Traghas was waiting for them on board.

"Good morning, ma'am," he said with a huge smile. "Don't we have a perfect day? You see, there was no need to worry!" He clapped his hands, satisfaction clearly written on his face. "So, everyone's here then?"

"Yes." Luna glanced at the others as if verifying her claim. "Sorry for the wait. We are ready."

The captain grinned. "No problem. We're used to you land-lubbers, aren't we lads?" He turned back to the seamen. "Raise the anchor, hoist the sails! We're off!"

The land fell far behind as the Aqua Glory plowed her way through the sea with filling sails, flying across the water like the seagulls, the rising sun shedding a golden light on one side of her while on the other she was drawing her shade. Lina gazed at the shimmering sea. The final part of their journey had begun; in two weeks they would arrive to that mysterious island. If only she knew what was in store for them there.

* * *

So? Did you like it? Tell me!

I promise the next one will be more exciting...


	5. Chapter Four

**Author's Note:** First of all, I'm terribly sorry. I don't even have a proper excuse for the long wait, except that it wasn't my brightest idea to choose three optional subjects at school while also attending a language course and another one in informatics. BUT I'm still here, still writing and won't abandon this story. And I also have good news: Chapter five is already done, so you won't have to wait too long for that. At the moment, I'm trying to get over a writer's block in Chapter six. I'm not sure how much time I'll have from now on, though: school's starting in one week and it's my last year in high school with the finals coming up.

Again, a thousand thanks to The Toe of Sauron for proof-reading this and putting up with all my silly mistakes.

**Disclaimer:** Nope, still don't own.

Chapter four

Zelgadis was standing at the front of the ship, his sextant in his left hand, a map in the right. He had already measured the appropriate angles and fixed their position; he had found that they were already off-course. Almost two weeks had passed since they had set sail in Telarin and they should have spotted land by now.

"Are we there yet?"

The chimera sighed and turned around to find Gourry staring at him with a faint glimmer of hope in his eyes.

Zelgadis motioned at the endless sea around them. "Does it look like we are?"

The swordsman shrugged. "Not really. I just thought that maybe you saw something through that pipe of yours."

Zelgadis glanced at his equipment on a small table next to him. "That's a telescope, Gourry."

"Yeah, whatever."

The blond hero wandered off.

Zelgadis shook his head. Two weeks would have been real fun on some luxury cruiser, but not on the Aqua Glory. The ship was fast but hadn't been designed to carry passengers — everyone had to do their share of work which, in their case, consisted mostly of cleaning the board. The result of this was a frustrated and unbearable Lina who, in fear of her sister, usually vent her rage on poor Gourry, hence the swordsman's peevishness. Zelgadis would never have thought that one day he would be looking forward to setting his foot on that island but by now he was growing desperate. He gazed at the horizon. _Please, let us arrive soon, like, now…_

The chimera turned around and started to walk away. Then he stopped dead in his tracks as a chill ran down his spine. It felt like somebody had spilled icy water on him, only much worse with all his magic senses going crazy at the incredible power of the spell they detected nearby. Suddenly, Lina burst out of the cabin door with Luna and Amelia in tow. Zelgadis turned around as they ran past him to the front of the ship. He gasped as his gaze fell on the shimmering white fog that filled the entire horizon. He watched it clear up, rising like the curtain in a theatre to reveal green hills and a white beach lit by brilliant sunshine: an island in the middle of the endless ocean. He blinked, waiting for it to disappear like a mirage but it never did. Instead, it came nearer and nearer and they could soon make out the palm trees on the beach as well as the forest further up on the hillside.

The ship turned right, sliding along the shore in search for the bay the seamen had visited last time. Zelgadis glanced into the water; it was so clear he could see the sandy bottom below even though it must have been at least a hundred feet down.

"Are you sure we're heading in the right direction?" Lina said. She was leaning out over the railing and Zelgadis half-expected her to vault over the side.

"We don't know for sure, Miss," Traghas said, seeming far less happy. "It's possible that we'll have to sail around the island."

"You mean it can take _hours?!_"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"There's no way I'm staying here," the sorceress said. "Come on, guys! Ray-wing!"

She shot into the air like an arrow, followed by the others, Gourry holding on to Zelgadis. They flew far ahead of the Aqua Glory, following the shoreline and sometimes almost touching the azure waves.

"Hey, Lina!" Zelgadis cried as he glided closer to her. "Are you sure it's a good idea to just fly there? It could be a trap."

"When has that ever stopped me?"

"This isn't like other times, Lina. This could be Wolf Pack Island. It's—"

"You worry too much. This is going to be a piece of cake!"

Zelgadis frowned. Lina could joke all she wanted but he wasn't about to let his guard down.

"There it is," Luna said, edging out and flying ahead.

They all could see high towers appear behind the hills. As they swept round some boulders the entire building came into view; a proud castle towering above the bay, its colors mostly grey and gold. They stopped and floated for a couple of moments.

"What a nice castle," Lina said. "If it's vacant, I think I'll move in."

"And declare yourself a princess?" Luna said. She chuckled and shook her head.

Lina didn't answer; she started toward the building. A few moments later they landed on what had once been a terrace above the beach. The signs of neglect were everywhere: weeds and roots had broken through the stonework. A couple of feet away they could see a rusty table and chairs, most of them turned over.

A path led away from the terrace, disappearing into a grove of mahogany trees. In the steeper places, steps had been carved out of the volcanic rock. It was clear that the grove had at one point been well-maintained. Now the vegetation was creeping back in, some of the steps were hidden beneath ficus, saplings sprouting here and there.

Ten minutes later they were standing in front of the castle. Ahead of them, stairs led to a huge, white gate and beyond that, a gaping darkness.

"Creepy," Gourry commented. "I don't like this place."

"Don't be such a coward, Gourry." Lina ran up the stairs. "Come on, let's go inside."

Zelgadis glanced at Amelia, who was eyeing the entrance suspiciously. "Are you all right?"

Startled, the princess blinked at him. "But of course, Mr. Zelgadis. A true servant of Justice fears no darkness!" She flashed him a smile and followed Lina.

Zelgadis sighed and went after her. He pretended not to hear the catch in her voice.

- o -

They found themselves in a large hall. A longer staircase led to the first floor of the building and they could see several doors.

"So, where should we start?" Lina said.

"I think it will be best if we split up," Luna said.

"Fine. Gourry and I are going upstairs; you can explore the ground floor with Amelia and Zel. See ya later!" With that Lina grabbed the swordsman and ran up the stairs. In the blink of an eye they were gone.

Luna stood there for a couple of moments, gaping at the spot where her sister had disappeared. She finally turned to face Amelia and Zelgadis with a puzzled look.

"Is she trying to get rid of me?"

Zelgadis frowned. "Does that surprise you?"

"I would have thought in two weeks she would have realized she did not need to fear me."

The chimera shrugged. "I guess it's hard to give up the old habits."

"Miss Luna, you really should sort this out with her," Amelia said. "I hate to see a family broken like this."

Luna sighed. "Very well. But for now let us concentrate on our objective."

- o -

About an hour later Lina was standing on a balcony, drumming her fingers on the crumbling railing. She had already lost count of the rooms: this place had to be bigger than the palace in Seyruun. She gazed down at the park and the sea. The Aqua Glory came into her view; she watched as the clipper dropped anchor in the bay.

"Lina?"

She turned around to meet Gourry's gaze.

"I've looked into some other rooms, there's nothing interesting in there," the swordsman said.

Lina snorted and started in the direction of the door. "We're wasting our time. Come on, let's find something to eat!"

Gourry's face brightened. "Okay."

They left the room and followed a corridor. After some turns Lina found herself staring at an unfamiliar set of doors.

She frowned. "I don't remember this. Are you sure we came the right way?"

"Nope, I was following you."

"Great. This place is a labyrinth." Lina turned around, dragging Gourry with her. "Let's go back the way we came. I think I know where we took the wrong turn."

"Hey, wait a minute! Don't you think we should check that out first?" He pointed at the door.

"Why?"

Gourry shrugged. "It looks important."

"Well, I guess we can peek in," Lina said.

She tugged the handle and with some help from Gourry, the door squealed open.

"Whoa," Gourry said.

Lina whistled. "Neat! A throne room!"

A large hall lay in front of them. Two rows of columns sat upon a white marble floor, leading Lina's gaze straight to a silvery throne. On the left, the wall was split by windows, the sunshine casting golden squares on the ground. The rich, warm light engulfed the otherwise cold room.

At least they thought so, until they looked to the right.

Almost the entire wall was covered with a huge painting; even though it was dusty, they could make out the shapes of wolves and golden dragons in it. The figures were locked in a fierce fight, the wolves tearing apart their enemies, ripping into wings and legs, their fangs cleaving deep wounds in stomachs and throats. The whole scene bathed in blood and intestines, the dead dragons staring at Lina with lifeless eyes, the battlefield twisting into a horrifying swirl of death.

"What is this thing?" Gourry breathed. "Who would put something like that in their throne room?"

Lina shook her head. The sheer brutality of the image left her speechless. It brought back vivid memories about a young dragon priestess and a massacre far in the North many years before.

"This… this is the sickest thing I've seen in my life."

Dragons were not very popular inside the barrier; she was used to paintings of knights fighting them – she had even killed some herself. This, however, was different. There was nothing glorious about the way they were being slaughtered, no nobleness in the wolves' eyes. There was nothing but pure, burning hatred. Whoever had made it, they had loathed dragons with a passion.

"Mazoku."

- o -

"You were right, Sis," Luna said. "I can sense an enchantment on this picture and it is undoubtedly a mazoku spell."

Lina frowned. "Really? I can't detect anything."

"It is very faint. The spell itself is barely noticeable; however, you have felt its effect. It is this spell that makes the image look so realistic and therefore capable of invoking such strong emotions." Luna stepped back to take in the whole picture. "The theme suggests them as well."

"Yeah, I thought so."

"But how?" Gourry blurted. "I know they're evil and all, but how could they use such a disgusting thing as decoration?"

"Mazoku are twisted creatures," Luna said. "Sometimes it is the most revolting things that fill them with the greatest pleasure. Or do I need to remind you that they torture helpless beings to death?"

"I thought they ate that way!"

"Of course. But feeding is only one of their reasons for doing it."

Zelgadis, standing beside a pale Amelia, sighed. "Does this confirm that we are on Wolf Pack Island?"

"Not for certain. But the choice of wolves does indicate it. That, and the things we already know – lonely island far from the continent, invisibility and so on – give that presumption greater credibility."

"In other words, we can _almost_ be sure." Lina looked around. "That'd make this Zelas Metallium's throne room. Did you find anything, by the way?"

"You mean downstairs?" Zelgadis said. "Not yet. But we found stairs leading underground. It seems like there are some sort of catacombs under the castle."

Lina grimaced. "I'd have been surprised if there hadn't been something down there. Buildings like this always have catacombs."

"And we will explore them soon," Luna said. "But for now let us head back to the ship and have lunch."

"Good idea." Lina sped out of the hall like a blur.

"I'm not sure if I feel like eating right now," Gourry said.

"I _know_ I don't," Amelia said."Apparently, Miss Lina has no problems at all."

"It wouldn't be her if she had," Zelgadis said, a rare smile tugging his lips.

- o -

It turned out that the spell only affected those who were in the throne room: as soon as they stepped out the door it began to fade and by the time they reached the main gate of the castle, it was no more than a vague memory. His appetite back, Gourry raced down the path to the seashore, only to find that Lina had already flown back to the ship, leaving him with no other choice than wait for the others so that he could catch a ride.

Lunch itself was spent the same way as ever: Lina and Gourry battled over the food while the others tried to eat in peace.

"By the way," Lina said, a slice of meat hanging from her mouth, "what's our program for the afternoon?"

Seeing Luna's expression, she quickly swallowed the bite.

"I think we should go to the catacombs," the Knight of Cephied said, casting a last disapproving glance at her.

Amelia was less than thrilled at the idea. "But there are a lot of rooms we haven't seen yet."

"That is true," Luna said, "but I cannot shake the feeling that there is something down there. And I believe we should take care of that before sunset."

Gourry frowned. "Do you think it's something dangerous? Like, some kind of beast?"

"I do not know what it is, but yes, it is most likely dangerous."

"Great," Zelgadis mumbled, "That just made my day brighter."

Traghas, who had been listening to them, shifted on his chair. "Can it attack us here on the ship?"

"I cannot answer that question until I learn what exactly it is that I sense. But I do not think your crew is in danger, captain."

"And if it _is_ some beast, we'll make short work of it!" Lina said.

"Just be careful what you use," Zelgadis said. "Remember, we'll be underground. We don't want the ceiling to come crashing down on us thanks to someone getting carried away."

"And we do not want to destroy the entire building," Luna added.

Lina made a face. "Come on, I'm not _that_ destructive."

No one said anything.

- o -

The stairs leading to the catacombs were sinister, to say the least. Sharp, black marble cut into a hole of infinite night. Lina winced and tried to rub off the goose bumps that had risen on her arms. To her side, she saw Amelia pulling at the spider webs that hung from the ceiling, choking the tunnel.

"Er, Miss Luna?" Amelia said. "Whatever is down there… what if it's the same thing that wiped out the mazoku?"

"Then it is even more important to go down," Luna said.

"Besides, we've dealt with worse before," Lina said.

Zelgadis raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? When?"

"Well, it can't be worse than Darkstar, can it?"

Luna summoned some flames in her palm and burned the webs. Then she replaced them with a ball of pure light.

"Proceed with caution," she said as she began her descent, her spell illuminating the walls and the steps in front of her.

"_Lighting_," Lina murmured.

It didn't take them long to reach the bottom of the stairs and enter a dark corridor. Lina's glance followed the light of her spell as it danced on the walls; she could see ancient runes carved into the stone.

"Yet another indication of mazoku presence," Luna said when her sister pointed out her discovery. "These are magic words that help channel negative energy."

"I can sense their power," Zelgadis said, "but I've never thought mazoku needed help with that."

"They do not. However, like every living being, they prefer to make their own job as easy as possible."

"Wow, Luna, you sure know a lot about these guys!" Gourry said.

The Knight of Cephied shrugged. "Knowing is half the battle, I suppose."

"Hey, I think I see light there," Lina said.

The corridor ended at a large door that was half open; red light spilled through the gap and onto the floor.

"That doesn't look too encouraging," Amelia said.

Gourry drew his sword. The others prepared to cast spells.

"Everyone, get ready," Luna whispered. "We will go in on my –"

"_Flare arrow!"_

"– signal."

Before the smoke could clear up, Lina was already marching in, her friends close in tow. Luna sighed and jogged after them.

The room was empty. Lina looked around, searching for the enemy. When she didn't find anyone, she turned back to Luna. "So, where's that so-called beast again?"

"I don't know," Luna admitted. Her eyes narrowed. "Maybe your little stunt has scared it off."

"Then it can't be too dangerous," Lina shot back.

"I don't recognize this pattern, " Zelgadis said, prompting the two sisters to stop bickering and look at him.

He was kneeling at the source of the red light. It didn't take Luna more than a quick glance to know what it was: a pentagram.

An _active_ pentagram.

"Get away from it," she ordered the chimera. "And don't step into it. We don't know what it does."

She looked up – she couldn't see the ceiling through the thick darkness. She commanded her little light-ball to rise up and increase its light.

To her surprise, nothing happened. When the light entered the pentagram, it faded as if blocked by something. There was some kind of a black cloud or fog inside. Something almost like… embodied darkness.

Her eyes widened.

"What the heck is that?" Lina said, looking up as well.

"Move away from the pentagram," Luna hissed, preparing a spell. "Don't wake it up!"

"Don't wake what up?" Gourry said as he backed up.

Before Luna could have answered, a purple light shone inside and the black cloud swirled. Lina swore as she finally realized what was going on. The darkness twirled faster and took the shape of a human; when the body was almost complete, clothes enveloped it and eyes, nose and mouth formed on the face. Hair grew on the head and covered the forehead and the ears. When the process was complete, the young man descended to the ground.

Even if his general appearance hadn't been familiar, Lina would have immediately recognized his cold amethyst eyes.

"_Xelloss?__"_


	6. Chapter Five

**Author's Note:** I thought I might as well upload this. I'm pretty much stuck with Chapter Six, so I don't know when I'll post that. It might take some time, especially since I'm focusing on another fandom right now. If you have some time to spare, leave me a review; it might inspire me.  
Thank you **The Toe of Sauron** for beta-reading this.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own.

* * *

Chapter Five

The entire group stared at the mazoku in disbelief. Xelloss merely closed his eyes and flashed his trademark grin.

"My, what a pleasant surprise. It has been such a long time," he said.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Lina said, immediately annoyed.

"I believe I should be asking that question. After all, this is my home."

"So we _are_ on Wolf Pack Island," Zelgadis said.

"But of course you are, Mr. Zelgadis. Why, have you not –"

Xelloss stopped mid-sentence, frowned and stared at the ground in front of him.

Lina raised an eyebrow. "Xelloss?"

The mazoku lifted his head. "I've forgotten something."

"What?"

"I don't know." He turned around, examining his own body. "Head, check. Hands, check. Cloak, check."

"Your staff?" Amelia offered.

Xelloss snapped his fingers. "Of course!"

His staff appeared in his hand and he gave Lina a pleasant smile. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

"Is everything all right?"

"Oh yes, don't worry about me. It's just that I haven't taken a human form for some time." He scratched his head. "So, what brings you here, my dear Lina-san?"

Luna chose this moment to intervene.

"We have a couple of questions, mazoku," she said, her voice as cold as ice.

Xelloss glanced at her and opened his eyes. "If it isn't the Knight of Cephied," he said, his voice taking a darker tone.

"What happened here?" Luna said.

Xelloss grinned and winked. "That's a secret!"

Luna's eyes narrowed. "I have said you a question. I am in no mood for your games."

"Oh, Miss Luna, you wound me."

Lina sighed. "Come on, Xelloss. Can't you give us a little information for a change? Where's everybody gone?"

"That truly doesn't concern you, Lina-san."

"Oh really? I think it does. That's why I'm here, you know."

Xelloss sighed. "And here I thought you had come to visit."

Lina didn't bother to answer. Instead, she attempted to stare the mazoku down.

Without success, of course.

"Then I guess you won't share with us what you're doing locked in a pentagram in the cellar," Zelgadis said.

Xelloss stroked his chin, as if deep in thought. Then he flashed the chimera a cheerful grin. "No, I won't." He glanced around. "I would be most grateful if you released me, though. Spending six years in the same room is no fun at all."

"Six years, huh?" Lina's predatory smile was rather disturbing, even though Xelloss wouldn't admit it. "Well then, I think both of us have something that the other wants."

She stepped closer to the pentagram. "Information in exchange for your freedom?"

Xelloss looked in her eyes. "Blackmail is not a nice thing, Lina-san," he said. "I wonder what your sister has to say about this."

To Lina's astonishment, Luna actually backed her up. "It is not blackmail, it is a fair deal. Answer our questions and we will set you free."

"Of course. I've almost forgotten that forcing someone to comply is not considered wrong among the followers of the Flare Dragon."

"Where are the mazoku?" Luna said.

His gaze hardening, Xelloss remained silent.

"All right, stay here then," Lina said. To say that she felt good for gaining the upper hand for once was an enormous understatement. "Come on, guys. We can figure this out on our own."

She turned around and started towards the door. The others followed her.

"Wait!"

Lina froze. She had expected the priest to agree to their conditions – after all, he had no other choice. What she hadn't expected was him to sound so desperate. Xelloss _never_ sounded desperate, the same way like he never sounded hurt or afraid. It was like the sun setting over the wrong horizon.

She turned around to face him. He had his eyes open and was staring at the ground in front of him. She realized that this must be embarrassing for him; in spite of the unique friendship they shared, he was still a mazoku and none of his kind liked to rely on a mere mortal.

Well, too bad for him.

He raised his head and she found herself under his piercing gaze again.

"I will tell you everything, just release me." A small pause. Then, "Please."

Lina stared at him, not caring that her mouth was hanging open. _'Please'?_ Since when had _that_ been included in his vocabulary? Those six years must have been really unpleasant.

"A wise decision, mazoku," Luna said. "Tell us what happened to the rest of your kind."

Xelloss lowered his gaze. "I don't know."

Luna's eyes narrowed. "You are lying."

The priest's eyes flared up. "All due respect, Luna Inverse," he snapped, "I make it a point not to lie. I have no idea what happened because I was here at the time."

"Why?"

"Only my Mistress knows."

Lina frowned. "You mean Zelas? But why?"

"Because she was the one who locked me in here."

Zelgadis threw him an incredulous look. "Your Mistress locked you up in a pentagram?"

Xelloss shrugged. "It surprised me too."

"Have you seen or heard anything?" Luna said.

Xelloss' face darkened. "I haven't seen anything. The only thing I heard… were screams."

"There was a fight?" Lina said.

"There are no signs of it in the castle," Luna said.

"Whatever it was, I think it happened on the Astral Plane," Xelloss said.

"That makes sense," Lina said. "Why haven't we thought about it?"

"It would also explain why my Mistress forced me to the Physical Plane," Xelloss said.

"You think she knew what was going to happen?"

"At least part of it. But she believed she could fight it because she said she would release me when it was over." Xelloss offered them a sad smile. "Only she didn't."

"That would give us some hope to solve this mystery," Luna said. "If she figured it out, then we can, too."

"Is everybody gone?" Xelloss said. "Dynast and Dolphin too?"

"It seems so," Lina said. "Why?"

Xelloss didn't answer.

Amelia, who had been silent throughout the conversation, stepped forward. "Mr. Xelloss, if there is anyone else then I swear we will find them."

A soft chuckle. "I was wondering when your so-called compassion would come into action. Now then, providing that I can't get any more pitiful than this, would you be kind enough to let me go?"

"I guess we did have a deal," Lina said. "But how can we do it? I mean, we aren't as powerful as Zelas Metallium, which means we can't break her spell."

"That's why she used a pentagram. She counted on the possibility that she wouldn't make it. This way, if something was to happen to her, it wouldn't affect the spell but at the same time anyone who knows pentagram magic would be able to dispel it." Xelloss grimaced. "Well, anyone who isn't under the spell's effect. The only thing you have to do is deactivate the pentagram."

"Okay." Lina stepped closer and examined the glowing pattern. "So… how do I do it?"

"It is easy. You will need to use a simple, short incantation."

"Go on."

"You need to say, 'Trakhana ero adlegi'. In rough translation it means something like 'Pentagram, release'."

"What language is this?"

"The language of the Auri people. They invented pentagram magic."

"I see. What was it again?"

"Trakhana ero adlegi."

Lina uttered the incantation; she could sense the energy as it left the pattern. The pentagram brightened for a moment, then went dark. The only source of light left in the room was Luna's little light-ball, still hovering close to the ceiling.

Xelloss stretched his arms with a contented sigh. "At last."

"For such a powerful spell that was way too easy," Lina said.

"Because my Mistress didn't try to make it harder. If she had wanted to, she could've linked the spell that keeps the pentagram active with the spell she used to bind me inside it; then you would've had to break the spell first before deactivating the pentagram itself. That would've been much more complicated."

"She intentionally made it easy to dispel?"

"Of course. After all, it's not like she wanted to imprison me for all eternity. Even though she almost succeeded in it." Xelloss stepped out of the now inactive pentagram. "Ah, this feels good. I can even teleport now." He disappeared.

After a couple of moments, Gourry spoke. "Um, Lina? Are you sure he'll come back?"

"He doesn't have anywhere else to go."

Xelloss reappeared beside Lina. She glanced at him and frowned at his pained expression.

"What's wrong?"

He forced out a smile. "Nothing."

"Then we should leave," Luna said. "Did Zelas Metallium have a laboratory or a study of some kind?"

"Yes. I have to warn you, though: getting inside is going to be tricky. She doesn't like intruders and has taken some precautions."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Lina said.

"You still like challenges, don't you? Follow me, then."

- o -

The Astral Plane has an interesting nature: negative energy weaves through it. This energy, besides providing the mazoku with suitable environment, also carries information. Whenever an astral body moves, vibrations are created. This phenomenon can be compared to ripples in a lake or the quivers of a fly trapped in a spider's web. With advanced senses, these small vibrations can be detected and used to track down their source, which is why it is difficult to hide from a mazoku.

Thanks to this strange characteristic, Xelloss' movements didn't go unnoticed.

As the tiny quivers reached the farthest corner of the Astral Plane, deep in the darkness something stirred.

It was time to hunt again.


End file.
